Wyoming · 35 · statute
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This act shall not be construed to prohibit the imposition by municipal ordinance of further regulations or prohibitions upon the sale, use and possession of fireworks within the corporate limits of any city or town, including those items defined under 15 U.S.C. § 1261, but no such city or town shall permit or authorize the sale, use or possession of any fireworks in violation of this act.
Propose a changeWyoming peace officers shall seize all stocks of fireworks held in violation of W.S. 35-10-201 through 35-10-208 and shall apply to the appropriate court for the disposition of the fireworks. Following a hearing determining the fireworks were held in violation of W.S. 35-10-201 through 35-10-208, the fireworks shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of upon order of any circuit court or district court.
Propose a changeAny person violating any provision of W.S. 35-10-201 through 35-10-208 is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or by imprisonment not exceeding sixty (60) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Propose a change(a) For the purpose of this section "fireworks" means only those items which may be sold or offered for sale under 15 U.S.C. § 1261, 21 U.S.C. § 371 and 16 C.F.R., Commercial Practices, part 1507. A board of county commissioners may, subject to subsection (b) of this section: (i) Prohibit the sale to Wyoming residents or use of fireworks by adopting a resolution under W.S. 35-9-301; (ii) Promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for authorizing the sale of fireworks. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the proposition to prohibit, or authorize in counties that currently prohibit, the sale or use of fireworks in a county shall be submitted to the electors of the county upon receipt by the board of county commissioners of a petition requesting the election signed by a number of the electors of the county equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of votes cast at the general election immediately preceding the date on which the petition is submitted, or by resolution of the board of county commissioners. The proposition shall be submitted at a primary or general election, if the petition or resolution is certified sixty (60) days prior to the primary or general election. If the proposition fails, no such petition shall be submitted for four (4) years following the election. (c) Any resolution adopted by a county prohibiting the sale or use of fireworks which was in effect on February 1, 1990, is deemed to be valid unless amended or repealed by the board of county commissioners pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
Propose a changeIt shall be unlawful for any person or company to store any gunpowder or any other explosive material at a less distance than one thousand (1,000) feet from any house or habitation, when more than fifty (50) pounds are stored at the same place; but it shall be unlawful to place or to keep any powder or other explosive material, in any house or building occupied as a residence, or any outbuilding pertaining thereto.
Propose a changeHereafter, any powder magazine that may be built, shall be so constructed as to provide and maintain the storage room thereof, entirely below the natural surface of the ground adjacent; and it shall be unlawful to store such powder or explosives in any other than such storage rooms.
Propose a changeAnyone violating the provisions of W.S. 35-10-301 shall be on conviction, fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each and every offense, and may be imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both fined and imprisoned, in the discretion of the court having jurisdiction. Any violation of the provisions of W.S. 35-10-302 shall be a public nuisance, and shall be abated at the suit of any person, in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Propose a changebridges or navigable streams generally; offensive manufactures or businesses; pollution of waters. (a) If any person, company or corporation shall obstruct or injure or cause or procure to be obstructed or injured, any public road or highway, or common street or alley of any town or village, or any public bridge or causeway, or public river or stream, declared navigable by law, or shall continue such obstruction, so as to render the same inconvenient or dangerous to pass, or shall erect or establish any offensive trade, or manufacture or business, or continue the same after it has been erected or established, or shall in anywise pollute or obstruct any watercourse, lake, pond, marsh or common sewer, or continue such obstruction or pollution, so as to render the same unwholesome or offensive to the county, city, town or neighborhood thereabouts; every person, company or corporation so offending, shall upon conviction thereof, be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00); and every such nuisance may, by order of the district court before whom the conviction may take place, be removed and abated by the sheriff of the proper county. (b) Whoever, in any manner, wrongfully obstructs any public highway, or injures any bridge, culvert, or embankment, or injures any material used in the construction of any such road, shall be fined in any sum not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), to which may be added imprisonment in the county jail not more than three (3) months.
Propose a changewhile intoxicated; taking intoxicants into related structures. Whoever shall, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, enter any mine, smelter, metallurgical works, machine shops or sawmills, or any of the buildings connected with the operation of the same in Wyoming where miners or workmen are employed or whoever shall carry or haul any intoxicating liquor into the same or any logging or grading camp shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) to which may be added imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding one (1) year.
Propose a changeAny person who shall keep for hire boats, not equipped with life preservers for the protection of every occupant, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
Propose a changeEach and every person who shall operate a boat, raft or other navigable vessel shall have available for each occupant on said boat a life jacket of the coast guard approved type during the time the boat, raft or vessel is afloat upon any of the waters of the state of Wyoming.
Propose a changeAny person violating the provisions of the act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
Propose a changeEach and every city, town, county and state law enforcement officer and the game wardens of the Wyoming game and fish commission shall enforce the provisions of this act.
Propose a changeWhoever abandons or stores any refrigeration unit or icebox in such a place as to be easily accessible to children without first having made adequate provision to prevent entry into such refrigeration unit or icebox or without having removed all latches, catches, locking devices or the door thereof, so that escape from the interior may be had, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum of not less than fifteen dollars ($15.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), or be imprisoned for not more than ninety (90) days or both.
Propose a change(a) Nothing in this act shall be construed as to prevent any city, town or village, incorporated under the laws of this state, or the proper corporate authority thereof, from passing or enforcing any ordinance, bylaw, regulation or rule, regulating, restraining, or prohibiting nuisances of any kind or character, or from enforcing any ordinance, bylaw, rule or regulation thereupon, already passed and in force. (b) Nothing in this act shall be construed as to prevent any county from passing or enforcing any resolution regulating, restraining, or prohibiting nuisances which the commission determines to be a threat to health or safety pursuant to W.S. 18-2-101(a)(viii), or from enforcing any resolution already passed and in force.
Propose a change(a) No person shall sell or offer for sale in this state any metal beverage container so designed and constructed that a nonbiodegradable part of the container is severed when the container is opened, with the following exceptions: (i) Metal beverage containers designed and constructed with biodegradable severed parts; (ii) Metal beverage containers sealed by pressure sensitive adhesive strips; and (iii) The manufacture of metal beverage containers with or without severable parts in this state for sale outside of Wyoming. (b) Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00). (c) As used in this section, "beverage" means mineral waters, soda water, carbonated or noncarbonated soft drinks or alcoholic or malt beverages as defined in W.S. 12-1-101(a)(vii) and (x).
Propose a changeThis act shall be known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Environmental Quality Act".
Propose a changeWhereas pollution of the air, water and land of this state will imperil public health and welfare, create public or private nuisances, be harmful to wildlife, fish and aquatic life, and impair domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational and other beneficial uses; it is hereby declared to be the policy and purpose of this act to enable the state to prevent, reduce and eliminate pollution; to preserve, and enhance the air, water and reclaim the land of Wyoming; to plan the development, use, reclamation, preservation and enhancement of the air, land and water resources of the state; to preserve and exercise the primary responsibilities and rights of the state of Wyoming; to retain for the state the control over its air, land and water and to secure cooperation between agencies of the state, agencies of other states, interstate agencies, and the federal government in carrying out these objectives.
Propose a change(a) For the purpose of this act, unless the context otherwise requires: (i) "Department" means the department of environmental quality established by this act; (ii) "Council" means the environmental quality council established by this act; (iii) "Director" means the director of the department of environmental quality; (iv) "Board" means one (1) or more of the advisory boards in each division of air, land, or water quality; (v) "Administrator" means the administrator of each division of the department; (vi) "Person" means an individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, municipality or any other political subdivision of the state, or any interstate body or any other legal entity; (vii) "Aggrieved party" means any person named or admitted as a party or properly seeking or entitled as of right to be admitted as a party to any proceeding under this act because of damages that person may sustain or be claiming because of his unique position in any proceeding held under this act; (viii) "Interstate agency" means an agency of two (2) or more states established by or pursuant to an agreement or compact approved by the United States Congress or any other agency of two (2) or more states, having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the control of air, land or water pollution; (ix) "Municipality" means a city, town, county, district, association or other public body; (x) "Nonpoint source" means any source of pollution other than a point source. For purposes of W.S. 16-1-201 through 16-1-207 only, nonpoint source includes leaking underground storage tanks as defined by W.S. 35-11-1415(a)(ix) and aboveground storage tanks as defined by W.S. 35-11-1415(a)(xi); (xi) "Point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged; (xii) The singular includes the plural, the plural the singular, and the masculine and feminine or neuter, when consistent with the intent of this act and necessary to effect its purpose; (xiii) "This act" means W.S. 35-11-101 through 35-11-403, 35-11-405, 35-11-406, 35-11-408 through 35-11-1106, 35-11-1414 through 35-11-1432, 35-11-1601 through 35-11-1613, 35-11-1701, 35-11-1801 through 35-11-1803, 35-11-2001 through 35-11-2004 and 35-11-2101. (b) Specific definitions applying to air quality: (i) "Air contaminant" means odorous material, dust, fumes, mist, smoke, other particulate matter, vapor, gas or any combination of the foregoing, but shall not include steam or water vapor; (ii) "Air pollution" means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one (1) or more air contaminants in such quantities and duration which may be injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property, or unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or property; (iii) "Clean Air Act" means the federal Clean Air Act of 1977, as amended by P.L. 101-549; (iv) "Emission" means a release into the outdoor atmosphere of air contaminants; (v) "Operating permit program" means the permitting program authorized by W.S. 35-11-203 through 35-11-212 implementing a state plan pursuant to the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act; (vi) "Stationary source" means any building, structure, facility or installation which emits or may emit any air contaminant. (c) Specific definitions applying to water quality: (i) "Pollution" means contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of any waters of the state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity or odor of the waters or any discharge of any acid or toxic material, chemical or chemical compound, whether it be liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive or other substance, including wastes, into any waters of the state which creates a nuisance or renders any waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wildlife or aquatic life, or which degrades the water for its intended use, or adversely affects the environment. This term does not mean water, gas or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil, or gas or water, derived in association with oil or gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of the state, and if the state determines that such injection or disposal well will not result in the degradation of ground or surface or water resources; (ii) "Wastes" means sewage, industrial waste and all other liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances which may pollute any waters of the state; (iii) "Sewerage system" means pipelines, conduits, storm sewers, pumping stations, force mains, and all other constructions, devices, appurtenances and facilities used for collecting or conducting wastes to an ultimate point for treatment or disposal; (iv) "Treatment works" means any plant or other works used for the purpose of treating, stabilizing or holding wastes; (v) "Disposal system" means a system for disposing of wastes, either by surface or underground methods, including sewerage systems, treatment works, disposal wells, and absorption fields; (vi) "Waters of the state" means all surface and groundwater, including waters associated with wetlands, within Wyoming; (vii) "Discharge" means any addition of any pollution or wastes to any waters of the state; (viii) "Public water supply" means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen (15) service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) individuals. Public water supply shall include: (A) Any collection, treatment, storage and distribution facility under control of the operator of the facility and used primarily in connection with the system; and (B) Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under the control of the operator which are used primarily in connection with the system. (ix) "Small wastewater system" means any sewerage system, disposal system or treatment works having simple hydrologic and engineering needs which is intended for wastes originating from a single residential unit serving no more than four (4) families or which distributes two thousand (2,000) gallons or less of domestic sewage per day; (x) "Wetlands" means those areas in Wyoming having all three (3) essential characteristics: (A) Hydrophytic vegetation; (B) Hydric soils; and (C) Wetland hydrology. (xi) "Compensatory mitigation" means replacement, substitution or enhancement of ecological functions and wetland values to offset anticipated losses of those values caused by filling, draining or otherwise damaging a wetland; (xii) "Ecological function" means the ability of an area to support vegetation and fish and wildlife populations, recharge aquifers, stabilize base flows, attenuate flooding, trap sediment and remove or transform nutrients and other pollutants; (xiii) "Mitigation" means all actions to avoid, minimize, restore and compensate for ecological functions or wetland values lost; (xiv) "Natural wetlands" means those wetlands that occur independently of human manipulation of the landscape; (xv) "Man-made wetlands" means those wetlands that are created intentionally or occur incidental to human activities, and includes any enhancement made to an existing wetland which increases its function or value; (xvi) "Wetland value" means those socially significant attributes of wetlands such as uniqueness, heritage, recreation, aesthetics and a variety of economic values; (xvii) "Community water system" means a public water supply that has at least fifteen (15) service connections used year-round by residents or that regularly provides water to at least twenty-five (25) residents year-round, including, but not limited to, municipalities and water districts; (xviii) "Nontransient noncommunity water system" means a public water supply which is not a community water system and which regularly provides service to at least twenty-five (25) of the same persons for more than six (6) months of the year where those persons are not full-time residents, including, but not limited to, schools, factories and office buildings; (xix) "Credible data" means scientifically valid chemical, physical and biological monitoring data collected under an accepted sampling and analysis plan, including quality control, quality assurance procedures and available historical data; (xx) "Geologic sequestration" means the injection of carbon dioxide and associated constituents into subsurface geologic formations intended to prevent its release into the atmosphere; (xxi) "Geologic sequestration site" means the underground geologic formations where the carbon dioxide is intended to be stored; (xxii) "Geologic sequestration facilities" means the surface equipment used for transport, storage and injection of carbon dioxide. (d) Specific definitions applying to solid waste management: (i) "Solid waste" means garbage, and other discarded solid materials, materials, including solid waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but, unless disposed of at a solid waste management facility, does not include any of the following: (A) Solids or dissolved material in domestic sewerage or other significant pollutants in water resources, such as silt, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial waste water effluents, dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or other common water pollutants; (B) Liquids, solids, sludges or dissolved constituents which are collected or separated in process units for recycling, recovery or reuse including the recovery of energy, within a continuous or batch manufacturing or refining process; (C) Agricultural materials which are recycled in the production of agricultural commodities; (D) Post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks converted at an advanced recycling facility or held at an advanced recycling facility before conversion through an advanced recycling process. (ii) "Solid waste management facility" means any facility for the transfer, treatment, processing, storage or disposal of solid waste, but does not include any of the following: (A) Lands or facilities subject to the permitting requirements of article 3 of this act; (B) Facilities which would have been subject to the permitting requirements of article 3 of this act if constructed after July 1, 1973; (C) Any facility described under W.S. 30-5-104(d)(vi)(A) or (B); (D) Lands and facilities subject to the permitting requirements of article 2, 3 or 4 of this act used solely for the management of wastes generated within the boundary of the permitted facility or mine operation by the facility or mine owner or operator or from a mine mouth electric power plant or coal drier; (E) Lands and facilities owned by a person engaged in farming or ranching and used to dispose of solid waste generated incidental to his farming and ranching operations; (F) Transport vehicles, storage containers and treatment of the waste in containers; (G) Lands and facilities subject to W.S. 35-11-402(a)(xiii) or (xv); (H) Advanced recycling facilities. (iii) "Cost effective" means the selection of alternative responses taking into account total short-term and long-term costs of those responses including the costs of operation and maintenance for the entire activity, the presence of naturally occurring hazardous or toxic substances, current or potential uses of the natural resources impacted; (iv) "Commercial solid waste management facility" means any facility receiving a monthly average greater than five hundred (500) short tons per day of unprocessed household refuse or mixed household and industrial refuse for management or disposal, excluding lands and facilities subject to W.S. 35-11-402(a)(xiii); (v) "Commercial radioactive waste management facility" means any facility used or intended to be used to receive for disposal, storage, reprocessing or treatment, any amount of radioactive wastes which are generated by any person other than the facility owner or operator, or which are generated at a location other than the location of the facility, but does not include: (A) Uranium mill tailings facilities licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission which receive in situ leaching uranium mining byproduct materials or are specifically authorized by the department on a limited basis to receive small quantities of wastes defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2), as amended, which were generated by persons other than the facility owner or operator or which were generated at a location other than the location of the facility, or both; and (B) Facilities used for the temporary storage of radioactive wastes generated by the facility owner or operator, including facilities for the temporary storage of naturally occurring radioactive materials generated during the course of oil or natural gas exploration or production, provided the storage of radioactive wastes is in compliance with applicable state and federal law; and (C) Permitted solid waste disposal facilities which are authorized by the director to receive small quantities of radioactive wastes containing only naturally occurring radioactive materials, or which receive radioactive materials that have been exempted from regulation under section 10 of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, 42 U.S.C. § 2021j, or both if found by the department not to threaten human health and the environment; and (D) Federally owned facilities used exclusively for the storage, reprocessing or treatment of spent reactor fuel; (E) Facilities licensed by the United States nuclear regulatory commission whose sole purpose is to receive in situ leaching uranium mining byproduct materials as defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2), as amended. (vi) "Long term remediation and monitoring trust" means a trust account established to provide funding for perpetual monitoring, maintenance and remediation of any commercial radioactive waste management facility. The adequacy of the initial and subsequent funding, including the quality of any bond or letter of credit, shall be determined jointly by the director, the insurance commissioner and the attorney general. Expenditures from the trust shall be only for commercial radioactive waste regulation, monitoring and remediation; (vii) "Hazardous waste" means any liquid, solid, semisolid or contained gaseous waste or combination of those wastes which because of quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to detrimental human health effects, or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment. Only those materials listed as hazardous wastes by the United States environmental protection agency's hazardous waste management regulations or which exhibit a hazardous waste characteristic specified by the environmental protection agency shall be considered hazardous wastes. Hazardous waste does not include those hazardous wastes exempted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, P.L. 94-580, or under the United States environmental protection agency's hazardous waste management regulations for the period that they remain exempted by congressional or administrative action; (viii) "Composite liner" means a system consisting of two (2) components; the upper component must consist of a minimum thirty (30) mil flexible membrane liner (FML) and the lower component shall consist of at least a two (2) foot layer of compacted soil with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 x 10-7 centimeters per second. A flexible membrane liner components consisting of high density polyethylene (HDPE) shall be at least sixty (60) mil thick. The flexible membrane liner component shall be installed in direct and uniform contact with the compacted soil component; (ix) "Leachate" means liquid that has passed through or emerged from solid waste and contains soluble, suspended or miscible materials removed from such wastes; (x) "Statistical power" means the probability of detecting change given that a change has truly occurred; (xi) "Eligible leaking municipal solid waste landfill" means the landfills identified by the department under the priority list for municipal solid waste landfills that need remediation created pursuant to W.S. 35-11-524(b). (xii) "Advanced recycling" means a manufacturing process for the conversion of post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks into basic hydrocarbon raw materials, feedstocks, chemical and other products like waxes and lubricants through processes that include but are not limited to pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, catalytic cracking, hydrogenation, solvolysis and other similar technologies; (xiii) "Advanced recycling facility" means a manufacturing facility that receives, stores and converts post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks using advanced recycling. (e) Specific definitions for land quality: (i) "Reclamation" means the process of reclaiming an area of land affected by mining to use for grazing, agricultural, recreational, wildlife purposes, or any other purpose of equal or greater value. The process may require contouring, terracing, grading, resoiling, revegetation, compaction and stabilization, settling ponds, water impoundments, diversion ditches, and other water treatment facilities in order to eliminate water diminution to the extent that existing water sources are adversely affected, pollution, soil and wind erosion, or flooding resulting from mining or any other activity to accomplish the reclamation of the land affected to a useful purpose; (ii) "Minerals" means coal, clay, stone, sand, gravel, bentonite, scoria, rock, pumice, limestone, ballast rock, uranium, gypsum, feldspar, copper ore, iron ore, oil shale, trona, and any other material removed from the earth for reuse or further processing; (iii) "Contouring" means grading or backfilling and grading the land affected and reclaiming it to the proposed future use with adequate provisions for drainage. Depressions to accumulate water are not allowed except if approved as part of the reclamation plan; (iv) "Overburden" means all of the earth and other materials which lie above the mineral deposit and also means such earth and other materials disturbed from their natural state in the process of mining, or mining from exposed natural deposits; (v) "Underground mining" means the mining of minerals by man-made excavation underneath the surface of the earth; (vi) "Pit" means a tract of land from which overburden has been or is being removed for the purpose of surface mining or mining from an exposed natural deposit; (vii) "Adjacent lands" means all lands within one-half mile of the proposed permit area; (viii) "Operation" means all of the activities, equipment, premises, facilities, structures, roads, rights-of-way, waste and refuse areas excluding uranium mill tailings and mill facilities, within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license area, storage and processing areas, and shipping areas used in the process of excavating or removing overburden and minerals from the affected land or for removing overburden for the purpose of determining the location, quality or quantity of a natural mineral deposit or for the reclamation of affected lands; (ix) "Operator" means any person, as defined in this act, engaged in mining, either as a principal who is or becomes the owner of minerals as a result of mining, or who acts as an agent or independent contractor on behalf of such principal in the conduct of mining operations; (x) "Surface mining" means the mining of minerals by removing the overburden lying above natural deposits thereof and mining directly from the natural deposits thereby exposed, including strip, open pit, dredging, quarrying, surface leaching, and related activities; (xi) "Mining permit" means certification by the director that the affected land described may be mined for minerals by a licensed operator in compliance with an approved mining plan and reclamation plan. No mining may be commenced or conducted on land for which there is not in effect a valid mining permit. A mining permit shall remain valid and in force from the date of its issuance until the termination of all mining and reclamation operations, except as otherwise provided in this act; (xii) "Spoil pile" means the overburden or any reject minerals as piled or deposited by surface or underground mining; (xiii) "A license to mine for minerals" means the certification from the administrator that the licensee has the right to conduct mining operations on the subject lands in compliance with this act; for which a valid permit exists; that he has deposited a bond conditioned on his faithful fulfillment of the requirements thereof; and that upon investigation the administrator has determined that the licensed mining operation is within the purposes of this act; (xiv) "Topsoil" means soil on the surface prior to mining that will support plant life; (xv) "Exploration by dozing" means the removal of overburden by trenching with a bulldozer or other earth moving equipment to expose possible indications of mineralization; (xvi) "Affected land" means the area of land from which overburden is removed, or upon which overburden, development waste rock or refuse is deposited, or both, including access roads, haul roads, mineral stockpiles, mill tailings excluding uranium mill tailings, and mill facilities, within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license area, impoundment basins excluding uranium mill tailings impoundments, and all other lands whose natural state has been or will be disturbed as a result of the operations; (xvii) "Refuse" means all waste material directly connected with mining including overburden, reject mineral or mill tailings excluding uranium mill tailings, which have passed through a processing plant prior to deposition on affected land; (xviii) "Alluvial valley floors" means the unconsolidated stream laid deposits holding streams where water availability is sufficient for subirrigation or flood irrigation agricultural activities but does not include upland areas which are generally overlain by a thin veneer of colluvial deposits composed chiefly of debris from sheet erosion, deposits by unconcentrated runoff or slope wash, together with talus, other mass movement accumulation and windblown deposits; (xix) "Prime farmland" shall have the same meaning as that previously prescribed by the United States secretary of agriculture on the basis of such factors as moisture availability, temperature regime, chemical balance, permeability, surface layer composition, susceptibility to flooding and erosion characteristics, and which historically have been used for intensive agricultural purposes, and as published in the federal register; (xx) "Surface coal mining operation" means: (A) Activities conducted on the surface of lands in connection with a surface coal mine or with the surface impacts incident to an underground coal mine as provided in Section 516 of P.L. 95-87. These activities include excavation for the purpose of obtaining coal including common methods as contour, strip, auger, mountaintop removal, box cut, open pit and area mining, the use of explosives and blasting, and in situ distillation or retorting, leaching or other chemical or physical processing, and the cleaning, concentrating or other processing or preparation, and the loading of coal; and (B) The areas upon which these activities occur or where these activities disturb the land surface. These areas shall also include any adjacent land the use of which is incidental to any of these activities, all lands affected by the construction of new roads or the improvement or use of existing roads to gain access to the site of these activities and for haulage, and excavations, workings, impoundments, dams, ventilation shafts, entry ways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles, overburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks, tailings, holes or depressions, repair areas, storage areas, processing areas, shipping areas and other areas upon which are sited structures, facilities or other property or materials on the surface, resulting from or incident to these activities. (xxi) "Steep slope surface coal mining operation" means a surface coal mining operation where mining occurs along the contour of a steep slope generally exceeding twenty (20) degrees and which, because of the steepness of the terrain, requires special spoil handling procedures; (xxii) "Complete application" under W.S. 35-11-406(e) means that the application contains all the essential and necessary elements and is acceptable for further review for substance and compliance with the provisions of this chapter; (xxiii) "Interim mine stabilization" means a temporary cessation of mining operation within the terms of a valid permit to mine; (xxiv) "Deficiency" means an omission or lack of sufficient information serious enough to preclude correction or compliance by stipulation in the approved permit to be issued by the director; (xxv) "Imminent or continuous threat" means, with respect to the coal mine subsidence mitigation program, physical data which shows an immediate significant threat of damage from mine subsidence or insurance claim records which support progressive and continuous mine subsidence loss damage to structure; (xxvi) "Fish and wildlife habitat" means land dedicated wholly or partially to the production, protection or management of species of fish or wildlife; (xxvii) "Grazingland" includes rangelands and forestlands where the indigenous native vegetation is actively managed for grazing, browsing, occasional hay production, and occasional use by wildlife; (xxviii) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 87, § 2. (xxix) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 87, § 2. (xxx) Repealed by Laws 1994, ch. 87, § 2. (xxxi) "Inert material" means a material that is suitable as backfill into non-coal mining sites as determined by W.S. 35-11-402(a)(xv). (f) Specific definitions applying to in situ mining are: (i) "Best practicable technology" means a technology based process justifiable in terms of existing performance and achievability in relation to health and safety which minimizes, to the extent safe and practicable, disturbances and adverse impacts of the operation on human or animal life, fish, wildlife, plant life and related environmental values; (ii) "Excursion" means any unwanted and unauthorized movement of recovery fluid out of the production zone as a result of in situ mining activities; (iii) "Groundwater restoration" means the condition achieved when the quality of all groundwater affected by the injection of recovery fluids is returned to a quality of use equal to or better than, and consistent with the uses for which the water was suitable prior to the operation by employing the best practicable technology; (iv) "In situ mining" means a method of in-place surface mining in which limited quantities of overburden are disturbed to install a conduit or well and the mineral is mined by injecting or recovering a liquid, solid, sludge or gas that causes the leaching, dissolution, gasification, liquefaction or extraction of the mineral. In situ mining does not include the primary or enhanced recovery of naturally occurring oil and gas or any related process regulated by the Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission; (v) "Production zone" means the geologic interval into which recovery fluids are to be injected or extracted; (vi) "Reclamation" includes groundwater restoration; (vii) "Recovery fluid" means any material which flows or moves, whether semi-solid, liquid, sludge, gas or other form or state, used to dissolve, leach, gasify or extract a mineral; (viii) "Research and development testing" means conducting research and development activities to indicate mineability or workability of and develop reclamation techniques for an in situ operation. (g) Specific definitions applying to voluntary remediation, real property remediation account and innocent owners: (i) "Adjacent" means property contiguous to an eligible site, and contiguous or noncontiguous property onto or under which contaminants are known to have migrated from such site; (ii) "Certificate of completion" means a certificate issued by the director stating that all remediation requirements for a site have been successfully implemented or satisfied. The certificate of completion shall incorporate any required institutional and engineering controls for future use of the site, which may include deed restrictions recorded by the site owner. A certificate of completion may be conditioned upon the duty to perform any continuing requirements specified in a remedy agreement; (iii) "Contaminant" means any chemical, material, substance or waste: (A) Which is regulated under any applicable federal, state or local law or regulation; (B) Which is classified as hazardous or toxic under federal, state or local law or regulation; or (C) To which exposure is regulated under federal, state or local law or regulation. (iv) "Covenant not to sue" means a written pledge issued by the director stating that the state shall not sue the person or any subsequent owner concerning contaminants and liability addressed by a remedy agreement. A covenant not to sue may be conditioned upon the duty to perform any continuing requirements specified in a remedy agreement; (v) "Engineering controls" means measures, such as capping, containment, slurry walls, extraction wells or treatment methods that are capable of managing environmental and health risks by reducing contamination levels or limiting exposure pathways; (vi) "Governmental entity" shall have the following meaning as determined by the location of an eligible site. For the purposes of this definition, city shall include both first class cities and towns: (A) The city, for a site located entirely within the boundary of that city; (B) Both the city and county, for a site located partially within that city or within the extraterritorial boundary of a city; (C) The county, for a site located outside the boundary of a city and outside the extraterritorial boundary of the city; or (D) The federal land management agency, for a site located on lands managed by that federal agency. (vii) "Institutional controls" means restrictions on the use of a site, including deed notices, voluntary deed restrictions or other conditions, covenants or restrictions imposed by the property owner and filed with the county clerk, use control areas, and zoning regulations or restrictions; (viii) "No further action letter" means a letter issued by the director stating that the department has determined that no further remediation is required on the site; (ix) "Remediation" means all actions necessary to assess, test, investigate or characterize a site, and to clean up, remove, treat, or in any other way address any contaminants that are on, in or under a site or adjacent property to prevent, minimize or mitigate harm to human health or the environment; (x) "Site" means a parcel of real property; (xi) "Use control area" means an area designated by a governmental entity or entities for the purpose of controlling current and future property uses; (xii) "Bona fide prospective purchaser" means a person who acquired ownership of contaminated real property after January 11, 2002 which the person knew to be contaminated at the time of acquisition and can establish each of the following: (A) All release or disposal of contaminants located at the real property occurred before the person acquired the property; (B) The owner or prospective purchaser stopped all continuing releases of contamination from the property; (C) The owner or prospective purchaser prevented any threatened future release from the existing contamination; (D) The owner or prospective purchaser prevented or limited human, environmental and natural resource exposure to previously released hazardous substances; (E) The department has been notified in writing of the presence of contamination; (F) The prospective purchaser is not potentially liable or affiliated with a potentially liable party for response costs at the property through: (I) Familial relationships; (II) Contractual, corporate or financial relationships; or (III) The reorganization of a potentially liable business. (h) Specific definitions applying to municipal solid waste landfills: (i) "Aquifer" means an underground geologic formation: (A) Which has boundaries that may be ascertained or reasonably inferred; (B) In which water stands, flows or percolates; (C) Which is capable of yielding to wells or springs significant quantities of groundwater that may be put to beneficial use; and (D) Which is capable of yielding to wells or springs which produce a sustainable volume of more than one-half (1/2) gallon of water per minute. (ii) "Credible data" means as defined in paragraph (c)(xix) of this section; (iii) "Groundwater" means any water, including hot water and geothermal steam, under the surface of the land or the bed of any stream, lake, reservoir or other body of surface water, including water that has been exposed to the surface by an excavation such as a pit which: (A) Stands, flows or percolates; and (B) Is capable of being produced to the ground surface in sufficient quantity to be put to beneficial use. (iv) "Lifetime" means the estimated time to fill and close a municipal solid waste landfill, not to exceed twenty-five (25) years. (j) Specific definitions applying to nuclear regulatory functions of the state as provided in article 20 of this chapter: (i) "Byproduct material" means the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content as defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2), as amended; (ii) "Recovery or milling" means any activity that generates byproduct material as defined in section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2), as amended; (iii) "Source material" means uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form or ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05%) or more of uranium, thorium, or any combination thereof. Source material does not include special nuclear material.
Propose a changeThere is created a department within the executive branch entitled "The State Department of Environmental Quality" as provided in W.S. 9-2-2013.
Propose a change(a) The department shall consist of the following divisions: (i) Air quality division; (ii) Water quality division; (iii) Land quality division; (iv) Solid and hazardous waste management division; (v) Abandoned mine land division; (vi) Industrial siting division.
Propose a change(a) All powers, duties, functions and regulatory authority vested in the state office of industrial siting administration are transferred to the department, as of April 1, 1992. The performance of such acts or functions by the industrial siting division of the department shall have the same effect as if done by the former state office of industrial siting administration as referred to or designated by law, contract or other document. The reference or designation to the former state office of industrial siting administration shall now apply to the industrial siting division of the department. The industrial siting council shall retain all powers, duties, functions and regulatory authority but shall be within the department. (b) All rules, regulations and orders of the former state office of industrial siting administration, the industrial siting council, abandoned mine reclamation program, solid waste management program or any other program or entity transferred to the department by this act which were lawfully adopted prior to April 1, 1992 are adopted as the rules, regulations and orders of the department and shall continue to be effective until revised, amended, repealed or nullified pursuant to law.
Propose a change(a) All records, physical property and personnel including their rights and privileges under the merit system, retirement system and personnel system, and any appropriated or unused funds of the former state office of industrial siting administration and of the industrial siting council shall be transferred to the department as of the effective date of this act. All records, lists or other information which by law are confidential or privileged in nature shall remain as such. (b) Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 60, § 4. (c) Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 60, § 4. (d) Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 60, § 4. (e) The industrial siting division is the successor to the powers, duties, functions and regulatory authority of the state office of industrial siting administration which is abolished effective April 1, 1992.
Propose a changeadministrators; qualifications of director; term; salaries; employment of assistants. The governor with the advice and consent of the senate shall appoint a director of the department who is the department's executive and administrative head. The director shall possess technical qualifications and administrative and other experience sufficient to fulfill the duties of his position. The director shall appoint administrators for each of the divisions of abandoned mine land, industrial siting, solid and hazardous waste management, air quality, water quality and land quality, who are the executive and administrative heads of their respective divisions. The administrators shall serve at the pleasure of the director and are responsible to and under the control and supervision of the director. The salary and qualifications of each administrator shall be determined by the human resources division. The director, with the advice of the respective administrators, may employ professional, technical and other assistants, along with other employees as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this act. The governor may remove the director as provided in W.S. 9-1-202.
Propose a change(a) In addition to any other powers and duties imposed by law, the director of the department shall: (i) Perform any and all acts necessary to promulgate, administer and enforce the provisions of this act and any rules, regulations, orders, limitations, standards, requirements or permits adopted, established or issued thereunder, and to exercise all incidental powers as necessary to carry out the purposes of this act; (ii) Advise, consult and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the federal government, other states, interstate agencies, and other persons in furtherance of the purposes of this act; (iii) Exercise the powers and duties conferred and imposed by this act in such a manner as to carry out the policy stated in W.S. 35-11-102; (iv) Conduct, encourage, request and participate in, studies, surveys, investigations, research, experiments, training and demonstrations by contract, grant or otherwise; prepare and require permittees to prepare reports and install, use and maintain any monitoring equipment or methods reasonably necessary for compliance with the provisions of this act; and collect information and disseminate to the public such information as is deemed reasonable and necessary for the proper enforcement of this act; (v) Conduct programs of continuing surveillance and of a regular periodic inspection of all actual or potential sources of pollution and of public water supplies with the assistance of the administrators; (vi) Designate authorized officers, employees or representatives of the department to enter and inspect any property, premise or place, except private residences, on or at which an air, water or land pollution source is located or is being constructed or installed, or any premises in which any records required to be maintained by a surface coal mining permittee are located. Persons so designated may inspect and copy any records during normal office hours, and inspect any monitoring equipment or method of operation required to be maintained pursuant to this act at any reasonable time upon presentation of appropriate credentials, and without delay, for the purpose of investigating actual or potential sources of air, water or land pollution and for determining compliance or noncompliance with this act, and any rules, regulations, standards, permits or orders promulgated hereunder. For surface coal mining operations, right of entry to or inspection of any operation, premises, records or equipment shall not require advance notice. The owner, occupant or operator shall receive a duplicate copy of all reports made as a result of such inspections within thirty (30) days. The department shall reimburse any operator for the reasonable costs incurred in producing copies of the records requested by the department under this section; (vii) Investigate violations of this act or regulations adopted hereunder and prepare and present enforcement cases before the council; to take such enforcement action as set out in articles 6 and 7 of this act; to appear before the council on any hearing under this act; (viii) Represent Wyoming in any matters pertaining to plans, procedures or negotiations for interstate compacts or other intergovernmental arrangements relating to environmental enhancement and protection. The director shall cooperate and participate in the negotiation and execution of consent orders, permit issuance, site investigations and remedial measures by and between federal agencies and the owners or operators of Wyoming facilities where the department has not been delegated the authority to administer and enforce federal legislation; (ix) Accept, receive and administer any grants, gifts, loans or other funds made available from any source for the purposes of this act. Any monies received by the director pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited with the state treasurer in the account or fund as provided by law for the purpose designated; (x) Serve as advisor to the council, without vote, on all matters other than the consideration of rules proposed by the department or contested case proceedings in which the department is a party; (xi) Designate authorized officers, employees or representatives of the department to monitor the air, water, and land quality, and solid waste management operations of all facilities which have been granted permits under W.S. 35-12-101 through 35-12-119, for assuring continuing compliance with conditions and requirements of their permits and for discovering and preventing noncompliance with the permits or violations of law; (xii) Exercise all the powers granted to administrators by W.S. 35-11-110; (xiii) Issue, deny, amend, suspend or revoke permits and licenses and determine the amount of bonds to be posted by the operator to insure reclamation of any affected lands; (xiv) Exercise the powers and duties conferred and imposed by this act. Any person who generates, stores, treats, transports, disposes of or otherwise handles or has handled hazardous wastes shall, upon request, furnish information relating to the wastes and permit at all reasonable times the director or designated officers, employees or representatives of the department to have access to, and to copy all records relating to the wastes. For purposes of developing or assisting in the development of any hazardous waste regulation or enforcing the hazardous waste provisions of this act, the designated officers, employees or representatives are authorized to: (A) Enter at reasonable times any establishment, property, premise or other place where hazardous wastes are or have been generated, stored, treated, disposed of or transported from; and (B) Inspect and obtain samples from any person of the wastes and samples of any containers or labeling for the wastes. (xv) Commence and complete with reasonable promptness each inspection conducted under paragraph (xiv) of this subsection. If an officer, employee or representative acting pursuant to paragraph (xiv) of this subsection, obtains any samples, prior to leaving the premises, he shall give to the owner, operator or agent in charge a receipt describing the sample obtained and if requested a portion of each sample equal in volume or weight to the portion retained. If any analysis is made of the samples, a copy of the results of the analysis shall be furnished promptly to the owner, operator or agent in charge; (xvi) Establish an expedited process to issue all permits or licenses required under this act that are necessary for the establishment or operation of a facility for the production of a value-added manufactured product in an industrial sovereign zone established under W.S. 9-20-202. The expedited process under this paragraph shall be prioritized ahead of all other permit applications and expedited to the extent that the process does not adversely impact primacy of permitting programs or reduce public health and environmental protections provided for in the Environmental Quality Act. The issuance of licenses or permits shall not be unreasonably delayed. In addition to an expedited process established under this paragraph, the director may, by rule, establish a pre-permitting process for any permit or license required under this act for the establishment or operation of a facility for the production of a value-added manufactured product in an industrial sovereign zone established under W.S. 9-20-201 through 9-20-203. (b) In addition to any other powers and duties imposed by law, the director of the department may allow the permitting and reporting requirements of this act to be conducted electronically as provided by the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119 and any applicable federal electronic requirements.
Propose a change(a) The administrators of the air quality, land quality and water quality divisions, under the control and supervision of the director, shall enforce and administer this act and the rules, regulations and standards promulgated hereunder. Each administrator shall have the following powers: (i) To serve as executive secretary of their respective advisory boards without vote; (ii) To make recommendations to the director regarding the issuance, denial, amendment, suspension or revocation of permits and licenses and to make recommendations to the director regarding the amount of bond to be posted by the operator to insure reclamation of any affected lands; (iii) To supervise studies, surveys, investigations, experiments and research projects assigned by the director and report all information gained therefrom to the director and the appropriate advisory board; (iv) To determine the degrees of air, water or land pollution throughout the state and the several parts thereof; (v) To administer, in accordance with this act, any permit or certification systems which may be established hereunder; (vi) To require the owners and operators of any point source to complete plans and specifications for any application for a permit required by this act or regulations made pursuant hereto and require the submission of such reports regarding actual or potential violations of this act or regulations thereunder; (vii) To require the owner or operator of any point source to: (A) Establish and maintain records; (B) Make reports; (C) Install, use and maintain monitoring equipment or methods; (D) Sample effluents, discharges or emissions; (E) Provide such other information as may be reasonably required and specified. (viii) To consult with and report to the appropriate advisory board and to make written reports of all the activities of his division to said advisory board at each of its regularly scheduled meetings; (ix) To recommend to the director, after consultation with the appropriate advisory board, that any rule, regulation or standard or any amendment adopted hereunder may differ in its terms and provisions as between particular types, characteristics, quantities, conditions and circumstances of air, water or land pollution and its duration, as between particular air, water and land pollution services and as between particular areas of the state; (x) To possess such further powers as shall be reasonably necessary and incidental to the proper performance of the duties imposed upon the divisions under this act. (b) The administrator of the land quality division shall have, in addition to the powers set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the power to issue, deny, amend, suspend or revoke licenses and to determine the amount of bonds to be posted by an operator to insure reclamation of affected lands in accordance with the specific authority granted the administrator under article 4 of this act. (c) The administrator of the solid and hazardous waste management division shall have the powers set forth in paragraphs (a)(ii) through (x) of this section. (d) The administrator of the abandoned mine land division shall enforce and administer the provisions of W.S. 35-11-1201 through 35-11-1209 and 35-11-1301 through 35-11-1304. He shall have the powers set forth in paragraph (a)(x) of this section. (e) The administrator of the industrial siting division shall enforce and administer the provisions of W.S. 35-12-101 through 35-12-119. He shall have the powers set forth in paragraph (a)(x) of this section.
Propose a change(a) There is created as a separate operating agency of state government an independent council consisting of seven (7) members to be known as the environmental quality council. Not more than seventy-five percent (75%) of the members shall be of the same political party. Council members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The governor may remove any council member as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. No employee of the state, other than employees of institutions of higher education, shall be a member of the council. At all times, there shall be at least one (1) member from the minerals industry and one (1) member from agriculture. Any member receiving more than ten percent (10%) of his income from any permit applicant shall not act on a permit application from that applicant. (b) The terms of the members shall be for four (4) years, except that on the initial appointment, members' terms shall be as follows: three (3) shall serve for two (2) years, two (2) shall serve for three (3) years and two (2) shall serve for four (4) years, as designated by the initial appointment. If a vacancy occurs, the governor shall appoint a new member as provided in W.S. 28-12-101. (c) The first meeting of the council shall be held within sixty (60) days after the effective date of this act at which time a chairman shall be elected from among the members to serve a one (1) year term. The council shall also annually elect from its membership a vice-chairman and a secretary, each for a term of one (1) year, and it shall keep a record of its proceedings. (d) The council shall hold at least four (4) regularly scheduled meetings each year. Special meetings may be called by the chairman, and special meetings shall be called by the chairman, upon a written request submitted by the director or three (3) or more members. Four (4) members participating in a matter shall constitute a quorum. All matters shall be decided by a majority vote of those members participating in the matter. For purposes of voting, a member who has recused himself from a matter, a member who is absent and is not participating in the meeting, a member who is unable to participate in proceedings due to illness or incapacity and a vacant position on the council shall be deemed to be not participating in the matter. (e) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, each member of the council shall receive the same per diem, mileage and salary for attending and traveling to and from meetings, hearings and other activities necessary to the performance of the duties of the office in the same manner and amount as members of the Wyoming legislature. Council members who receive compensation from their employers for activities performed pursuant to this act shall not receive salary but shall receive mileage and per diem if they are not reimbursed by their employers. (f) Effective July 1, 1979, appointments and terms under this section shall be in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through 28-12-103.
Propose a change(a) The council shall act as the hearing examiner for the department and shall hear and determine all cases or issues arising under the laws, rules, regulations, standards or orders issued or administered by the department or its air quality, land quality, solid and hazardous waste management or water quality divisions. At the council's request the office of administrative hearings may provide a hearing officer for any rulemaking or contested case hearing before the council, and the hearing officer may provide recommendations on procedural matters when requested by the council. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, including this section, the council shall have no authority to promulgate rules or to hear or determine any case or issue arising under the laws, rules, regulations, standards or orders issued or administered by the industrial siting or abandoned mine land divisions of the department. The council shall: (i) Subject to subsection (h) of this section, promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the administration of this act, after recommendation from the director of the department, the administrators of the various divisions and their respective advisory boards; (ii) Conduct hearings as required by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act for the adoption, amendment or repeal of rules, regulations or standards when recommended by the director after the director consults with the advisory boards and the administrators. The council shall approve all rules, regulations and standards of the department before they become final; (iii) Conduct hearings in any case contesting the administration or enforcement of any law, rule, regulation, standard or order issued or administered by the department or any division thereof; (iv) Conduct hearings in any case contesting the grant, denial, suspension, revocation or renewal of any permit, license, certification or variance authorized or required by this act; (v) Designate at the earliest date and to the extent possible those areas of the state which are very rare or uncommon and have particular historical, archaeological, wildlife, surface geological, botanical or scenic value. When areas of privately owned lands are to be considered for such designation, the council shall give notice to the record owner and hold hearing thereon, within a county in which the area, or major portion thereof, to be so designated is located, in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. No new designations shall be made pursuant to this paragraph after July 1, 2011, but the council shall retain the authority to remove designations made prior to that date; (vi) Adopt and when applicable, enforce the provisions of rule 11 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure in a contested hearing conducted by the council. The council may modify the procedural provisions of rule 11 to fit the circumstances of a hearing before the council and sanctions imposed by the council. If the provisions of rule 11 are modified at a future date, the council may adopt the modifications. (b) The council may contract with consultants having special expertise to assist in the performance of its duties. (c) Subject to any applicable state or federal law, and subject to the right to appeal, the council may: (i) Approve, disapprove, repeal, modify or suspend any rule, regulation, standard or order of the director or any division administrator; (ii) Order that any permit, license, certification or variance be granted, denied, suspended, revoked or modified; (iii) Affirm, modify or deny the issuance of orders to cease and desist any act or practice in violation of the laws, rules, regulations, standards or orders issued or administered by the department or any division thereof. Upon application by the council, the district court of the county in which the act or practice is taking place shall issue its order to comply with the cease and desist order, and violation of the court order may be punished as a contempt. (d) The council may employ an executive officer and staff who shall serve at the pleasure of the council. The executive officer and other staff members shall perform duties as the council may assign, including preparing meeting facilities and completing administrative, secretarial and other functions. The department of administration and information shall provide suitable office space for the executive officer and other staff members and shall ensure that any employment authorized under this subsection complies with title 9, chapter 2, article 10 of the Wyoming statutes. The council may negotiate and enter into appropriate memoranda of understanding with the department of administration and information to facilitate administrative support, accounting functions and staffing needs required under this subsection. (e) The attorney general shall provide legal assistance as the council may require in the proper performance of its duties. (f) All proceedings of the council shall be conducted in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. (g) Subject to subsection (h) of this section, the council shall not promulgate any rules which impose standards or requirements related to meat processing which are more stringent than federal law, rules or regulations. (h) The council shall not promulgate any rules or regulations that impose standards or requirements more stringent than federal law, rules or regulations applicable to any federal program that the state maintains primacy over unless the department identifies the need for rules or regulations that impose standards or requirements more stringent than federal law, rules or regulations in its statement of principal reasons.
Propose a change(a) There is created within the department three (3) advisory boards, one (1) for each of the air quality, land quality and water quality divisions. Each advisory board shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the governor. Each board shall have one (1) member who represents industry, one (1) member who represents agriculture, one (1) member who represents political subdivisions and two (2) members who represent the public interest. The governor may remove any member of any of the advisory boards as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. (b) For the initial appointments to each board, the governor shall appoint one (1) member for a six (6) year term, two (2) members for four (4) year terms and two (2) members for two (2) year terms. Thereafter all appointments shall be for four (4) year terms. No officer or employee of the state, other than employees of institutions of higher education, may be appointed to a board. A vacancy occurs if any member ceases to represent the interest group or political party for which he was originally appointed, or if any member becomes unable or fails to serve for any reason. The governor shall fill vacancies by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. (c) Each advisory board shall meet within sixty (60) days after the effective date of this act to elect from among its members a chairman and a vice-chairman. Such officers shall be elected annually thereafter. Each board shall hold at least four (4) regularly scheduled meetings each year, and special meetings may be called by the chairman at any time. Three (3) members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business, but all decisions must be approved by a majority of the total membership of the board. Each board shall keep a written record of its meetings and proceedings. Each board member shall be reimbursed for per diem, mileage and expenses for attending board meetings in the same manner and amount as state employees.
Propose a change(a) The advisory board shall recommend to the council through the administrator and director, comprehensive plans and programs for the management of solid and hazardous waste, the prevention, control and abatement of air, water and land pollution and the protection of public water supplies. (b) The advisory board shall consult with and advise the administrator and director on the adoption of rules, regulations and standards to implement and carry out the provisions and purposes of this act which relate to their divisions, and variances therefrom. (c) The advisory boards shall counsel with and advise the administrator of their respective divisions in the administration and performance of all the duties of the division and shall make an annual written report to the governor. (d) The advisory board shall counsel with and advise each other, the public, and the director of the department in order to coordinate the policies and activities of their respective divisions and to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness in furthering the objectives of the department. (e) Each administrator and staff shall provide the appropriate board with meeting facilities, secretarial or clerical assistance, supplies and such other assistance as each board may require in the performance of its duties.
Propose a change(a) Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, if the director finds that a condition of air, water or land pollution exists and that it creates an emergency requiring immediate action to protect human or animal health or safety, the director, with the concurrence of the governor, shall order any persons causing or contributing to such pollution to reduce or discontinue immediately the actions causing the condition of pollution and such order shall fix a time and place for hearing before the council within forty-eight (48) hours thereafter. The council shall affirm, modify or set aside the director's order within forty-eight (48) hours following the adjournment of the hearing. (b) If the director has evidence that any pollution source presents an immediate and substantial danger to human or animal health or safety, he may institute, through the attorney general, a civil action for immediate injunctive relief to halt any activity causing the danger. The court may issue an ex-parte order and shall schedule a hearing on the matter within three (3) working days from the date the petition for injunctive relief is filed. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any power which the governor or any other officer may have to declare an emergency and act on the basis of such declaration, if such power is conferred by statute or constitutional provision or inheres in the office.
Propose a changeNo person shall cause, threaten or allow the discharge or emission of any air contaminant in any form so as to cause pollution which violates rules, regulations and standards adopted by the council.
Propose a change(a) Without limiting the authority of the administrator as set out in W.S. 35-11-110, he shall, after consultation with the advisory board, recommend to the director such ambient air standards or emission control requirements by rule or regulation, as may be necessary to prevent, abate, or control pollution. Such standards or requirements may be for the state as a whole or may vary from area to area, as may be appropriate to facilitate accomplishment of the purposes of this act, and in order to take account of varying local conditions. (b) In recommending such standards or requirements the administrator shall: (i) Consider all the facts and circumstances bearing upon the reasonableness of the emissions involved, including: (A) The character and degree of injury to, or interference with the health and physical well being of the people, animals, wildlife and plant life; (B) The social and economic value of the source of pollution; (C) The priority of location in the area involved; (D) The technical practicability and economic reasonableness of reducing or eliminating the pollution; and (E) The social welfare and aesthetic value. (ii) Grant such time as he shall find to be reasonable and necessary for owners and operators of air contaminant sources to comply with applicable standards or requirements; (iii) Recommend to the director, after consultation with the advisory board, regulations to prevent construction, modification or operation of any source at any location where emissions from such source will prevent the attainment or maintenance of a state or national standard.
Propose a change(a) The following sources of air contaminants are subject to the provisions of W.S. 35-11-203 through 35-11-212: (i) Any stationary source, or any group of stationary sources located within a contiguous area and under common control, that: (A) Has the potential to emit one hundred (100) tons or more per year of any pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act and is a major stationary source as defined in section 302 of the Clean Air Act; (B) Has the potential to emit ten (10) tons per year of any single hazardous air pollutant or twenty-five (25) tons per year of any combination of hazardous air pollutants as defined by section 112 of the Clean Air Act. Emissions from any oil or gas exploration or production well (with its associated equipment) and emissions from any pipeline compressor or pump station shall not be aggregated with emissions from other similar units, whether or not such units are in a contiguous area or under common control, to determine whether such units or stations are major sources; or (C) Is subject to the nonattainment area provisions of title I, part D, of the Clean Air Act. (ii) Any other source of hazardous air pollutants, including an area source, which the environmental protection agency may designate pursuant to the provisions of section 112 of the Clean Air Act; (iii) Any source subject to the new source performance standards promulgated by the environmental protection agency pursuant to section 111 of the Clean Air Act; (iv) Any "affected source" subject to the acid rain provisions of title IV of the Clean Air Act as defined in section 501 of the Clean Air Act; (v) Any source subject to preconstruction review permits pursuant to the prevention of significant deterioration regulations promulgated by the environmental protection agency pursuant to the Clean Air Act; (vi) Any other stationary source that the environmental protection agency may designate by regulation pursuant to authority granted under the Clean Air Act. (b) After the effective date of the operating permit program authorized under W.S. 35-11-203 through 35-11-212, it shall be unlawful for any person to violate any requirement of a permit issued under the operating permit program or to operate any source required to have a permit under this section, without having complied with the provisions of the operating permit program. (c) The department shall exempt any nonmajor source from the obligation to obtain a permit under this section until the environmental protection agency requires such sources to obtain an operating permit in final regulations promulgated pursuant to title V of the Clean Air Act.
Propose a change(a) The department shall promulgate rules for permit applications, including standard application forms to be submitted pursuant to the operating permit program. The rules shall: (i) Establish specific criteria for defining a complete permit application, including information which identifies a source, its applicable air pollution control requirements, current compliance status, intended operating regime and emissions levels; (ii) Provide for adequate, streamlined and reasonable procedures for determining when an application is complete and for processing an application; and (iii) Provide for public notice of the application, and opportunity for public comment and public hearings. (b) The application, including any information required to be submitted with the application pursuant to this section shall be signed by a responsible official who shall certify the accuracy of the information. (c) Operating permit applications are not required until after the date that the environmental protection agency has issued approval of the state's permit program, or by November 15, 1995, whichever comes first.
Propose a change(a) Any source required to have a permit under W.S. 35-11-203 shall, not later than twelve (12) months after the date on which the source becomes subject to the requirements of the operating permit program or such earlier date as the department may establish, submit to the department a compliance plan and an application for a permit signed by a responsible official, who shall certify the accuracy of the information submitted. The department shall approve or disapprove a completed application, consistent with the procedures established under W.S. 35-11-204 for consideration of such applications, and shall issue or deny the permit, within eighteen (18) months after the date of receipt thereof, except that the department shall establish a phased schedule for acting on permit applications submitted within the first full year after the effective date of the operating permit program, or a partial or interim program. Any such schedule shall assure that at least one-third (1/3) of the permits will be acted on by the department annually over a period of not to exceed three (3) years after the effective date. The department shall establish reasonable procedures to prioritize approval or disapproval actions in the case of applications for construction or modification under the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act and this article. (b) Any source submitting a permit application shall submit with the application a compliance plan describing how the source will comply with all applicable requirements under this article and the Clean Air Act. The compliance plan shall include a schedule of compliance, and a schedule under which the permittee will submit progress reports to the department no less frequently than every six (6) months. (c) Except for sources required to have a permit before construction or modification under the applicable requirements of this article or the Clean Air Act, if an applicant has submitted a timely and complete application for a permit or a renewal of a permit required by the operating permit program, but final action has not been taken on the application, the source's failure to have a permit shall not be a violation of W.S. 35-11-203, unless the delay in final action was due to the failure of the applicant to timely submit information required or requested to process the application. No source required to have a permit under the operating permit program shall be in violation of W.S. 35-11-203 before the date on which the source is required to submit an application under subsection (a) of this section. (d) A copy of each permit application, compliance plan, schedule of compliance, emissions or compliance monitoring report, certification, and each permit issued under the operating permit program, shall be available to the public. If an applicant or permittee is required to submit information entitled to protection from disclosure under section 114(c) of the Clean Air Act, W.S. 35-11-1101(a) or 16-4-203(d)(v), the applicant or permittee may submit the information separately. The requirements of section 114(c), W.S. 35-11-1101(a) and 16-4-203(d)(v) shall apply to the information. The contents of a permit shall not be entitled to protection under section 114(c), W.S. 35-11-1101(a) or 16-4-203(d)(v).
Propose a change(a) Every permit issued under the operating permit program shall include enforceable emission limitations and standards, a schedule of compliance, a requirement that the permittee submit to the department no less often than every six (6) months, the results of any required monitoring, and other conditions as are necessary to assure compliance with applicable requirements established pursuant to this article and the Clean Air Act. (b) The department may by rule prescribe procedures and methods for determining compliance and for monitoring and analysis of pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act and this article, but continuous emissions monitoring need not be required if alternative methods are available that provide sufficiently reliable and timely information for determining compliance. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect any continuous emissions monitoring requirement of title IV of the Clean Air Act, or where required elsewhere in the Clean Air Act. (c) Every permit issued under the operating permit program shall set forth inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification and reporting requirements to assure compliance with the permit terms and conditions. Monitoring and reporting requirements shall conform to any applicable regulation under subsection (b) of this section. Any report required to be submitted by a permit issued to a corporation under the operating permit program shall be signed by a responsible corporate official, who shall certify its accuracy. (d) The department may, after notice and opportunity for public hearing, issue a general permit covering numerous similar sources. Any general permit shall comply with all requirements applicable to permits under title V of the Clean Air Act and the operating permit program. No source covered by a general permit shall thereby be relieved from the obligation to file an application under W.S. 35-11-205. (e) The department may issue a single permit authorizing emissions from similar operations at multiple temporary locations. No such permit shall be issued unless it includes conditions that will assure compliance with all the requirements of the operating permit program and the Clean Air Act at all authorized locations, including, but not limited to, ambient standards and compliance with any applicable increment or visibility requirements under part C of title I of the Clean Air Act. Any such permit shall in addition require the owner or operator to notify the department in advance of each change in location. The department may require a separate permit fee for operations at each location. (f) Every permit issued pursuant to the operating permit program shall: (i) Be issued for a fixed term of five (5) years unless the department makes a finding, after public comment and hearing, and based on substantial evidence in the record, that an operating permit term of less than five (5) years is necessary to protect the public health and the environment except that operating permits to any affected source as defined in section 501 of the Clean Air Act shall be issued for no less and no more than five (5) years; (ii) Be subject to termination, modification, revocation or reissuance for cause; (iii) Allow for operational flexibility at the permitted facility without revising the permit; and (iv) Be subject to revision by the department to incorporate applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act and this article which are promulgated after the permit is issued if the remaining term of the permit is for a term of three (3) or more years. Any revision required by this paragraph shall be acted on by the department within the time limits provided in W.S. 35-11-205(a).
Propose a change(a) The department shall transmit to the environmental protection agency: (i) A copy of each permit application and any application for a permit modification or renewal or any portion thereof including any compliance plan, as the environmental protection agency may require to effectively review the application and otherwise carry out its responsibilities under the Clean Air Act; and (ii) A copy of each permit proposed to be issued and issued as a final permit. (b) The department shall provide notice of each permit application or proposed permit forwarded to the environmental protection agency under this section, to all states: (i) Whose air quality may be affected and that are contiguous to this state; or (ii) That are within fifty (50) miles of the source. (c) The department shall provide an opportunity for states notified pursuant to subsection (b) of this section to submit written recommendations respecting the issuance of the permit and its terms and conditions. If any part of those recommendations are not accepted by the department it shall notify the state submitting the recommendations and the environmental protection agency in writing of its failure to accept those recommendations and the reasons therefor. (d) Upon receipt of timely objection by the environmental protection agency under title V of the Clean Air Act the department shall not issue any permit under the operating permit program unless it is revised and issued in accordance with section 505(c) of the Clean Air Act. Any permit issued under the operating permit program shall be subject to revocation or revision by the department throughout the period of time that EPA may object under title V of the Clean Air Act.
Propose a change(a) An applicant may seek relief pursuant to W.S. 35-11-802 on any final action taken on a permit including the director's refusal to grant a permit under the operating permit program or failure to act on a completed application within eighteen (18) months. (b) Any person who participated in the public comment process on a permit application and who is aggrieved by any final action taken by the director on a permit application may seek relief pursuant to W.S. 35-11-1001.
Propose a change(a) The department shall act as ombudsman for small business stationary sources in connection with implementation of the operating permit program and the Clean Air Act. (b) As ombudsman the department shall, in accordance with section 507 of the Clean Air Act, submit to the environmental protection agency plans for establishing a small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program. (c) The program shall be implemented by rules adopted by the department and shall contain: (i) Adequate mechanisms for developing, collecting and coordinating information concerning compliance methods and technologies for small business stationary sources, and programs to encourage lawful cooperation among such sources and other persons to further compliance with the Clean Air Act; (ii) Adequate mechanisms for assisting small business stationary sources with pollution prevention and accidental release detection and prevention, including providing information concerning alternative technologies, process changes, products and methods of operation that help reduce air pollution; (iii) A compliance assistance program for small business stationary sources which assists small business stationary sources in determining applicable requirements and in receiving permits under the operating permit program and the Clean Air Act in a timely and efficient manner; (iv) Adequate mechanisms to assure that small business stationary sources receive notice of their rights under the Clean Air Act in a manner and form as to assure reasonably adequate time for such sources to evaluate compliance methods and any relevant or applicable proposed or final regulation or standard issued under the operating permit program or the Clean Air Act; (v) Adequate mechanisms for informing small business stationary sources of their obligations under the operating permit program and the Clean Air Act, including mechanisms for referring such sources to qualified auditors or, at the option of the state, for providing audits of the operations of such sources to determine compliance with the Clean Air Act; (vi) Procedures for consideration of requests from a small business stationary source for modification of: (A) Any work practice or technological method of compliance; or (B) The schedule of milestones for implementing a work practice or method of compliance preceding any applicable compliance date, based on the technological and financial capability of the small business stationary source. No modification may be granted unless it is in compliance with the applicable requirements established pursuant to this article, the Clean Air Act, and the requirements of the operating permit program. (d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, for purposes of this section, "small business stationary source" means a stationary source that: (i) Is owned or operated by a person that employs one hundred (100) or fewer individuals; (ii) Is a small business concern as defined in the Small Business Act; (iii) Is not a major stationary source as defined in W.S. 35-11-203(a)(i)(A); (iv) Does not emit fifty (50) tons or more per year of any regulated pollutant; and (v) Emits less than seventy-five (75) tons per year of all regulated pollutants. (e) Upon petition by a source, the department may, after notice and opportunity for public comment, include as a small business stationary source for purposes of this section any stationary source which does not meet the criteria of paragraph (d)(iii), (iv) or (v) of this section but which does not emit more than one hundred (100) tons per year of all regulated pollutants. (f) The department, in consultation with the environmental protection agency and the administrator of the small business administration and after providing notice and opportunity for public hearing, may exclude from the small business stationary source definition under this section any category or subcategory of sources that the department determines to have sufficient technical and financial capabilities to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act without the application of this section.
Propose a change